In Constant Motion

Architecture, fashion design, tailoring, leather-carving, ceramic art—Joshua Fitton is a man who doesn’t sit on his laurels

- Koyyi Chin

In Joshua Fitton’s menswear collections over the years, there has always been a constant: a man trying to find his place in the world—or a place where he can belong. No matter the theme, the story was always about a man who goes through different phases in his life; a voyager at sea, both in his inner and outer worlds.

For his latest collection, ‘Moon Safari’, Fitton forgoes his usual repertoire of tailored suits, putting emphasis on the textures and moods of different textiles instead, including many intricately hand-carved leather patches.

“It’s not about an actual location that you can go to,” explains Fitton. “I wanted the collection to be a journey from within, rather than a physical one where you have to go somewhere. While I have featured safari-themed stuff before, it was always about the physical exploration and adaptation to new places: about someone trying to find an actual space where they can fit in and belong. This time, though, I wanted it to be an exploration into one’s internal psyche.”

But when it comes to the fast-paced world of fashion, the story behind a designer’s collection doesn’t always translate to suitability for the market. Fitton himself acknowledges this, and says that for the viewer, the wearer, and the buyer, when it comes to fashion or other artworks, it wasn’t so much about the story, but how the clothes looked on them or how much they resonated with the piece.